Of course, those very same Liberals have been claiming that this just further indicates that Mr. Harper is not a world leader. To which I state, Mr. Harper does not care. His only concern since he won power a few years ago is to amass more power and Barack Obama will not help him do that.
Mr. Harper is constantly campaigning and since he knows that Barack Obama is unable to vote for him he came home to where those votes are. In his judgement he does not believe he will be hurt by not staying in New York to listen to the President.
He is probably right with regard to his base. It is well known that they
- do not like the UN and what it stands for,
- do not like President Obama and what he stands for. Certainly, they like their guy to be with him so that some of his popularity will rub off on him but they do not like him,
- do not really care about foreign policy except for how it can further their short-term political advantage, and
- certainly do not care about the environment, global warming or climate change.
So his base very much appreciated his actions today but the broader Canadian public may not.
Which brings me to a question I have asked before. Why is Stephen Harper spending so much time trying to shore up his base? One thing public polls do not ask of respondents is if they would vote on election day. However, that is routinely asked by party pollsters when they identify a supporter of the party that sponsored the poll. Perhaps, those polls are not saying what the Conservatives want to hear.
A second reason why Stephen Harper might have skipped the speech was for a little tit for tat. Last week President Obama snubbed Mr. Harper by not meeting him at the door of the White House. Of course, the media, the PMO and others blew it off but Mr. Harper is the leader of the United States' leading trading partner and oldest friend. To leave greeting Mr. Harper, upon his arrival, to a relatively low level protocal officer is a snub and Mr. Harper felt it was just that. You just have to look at his facial expression and body language when the was greeted at the White House door to see he was disappointed. For a man as image conscious as he is that snub probably caused a slow burn.
That event was the first indication that there is tension in that relationship. It is well known that Mr. Harper tried to derail the President's run at that office early in the primaries and I am certain that has not been forgotten by the President or his staff. They both hide it very well at joint news conferences of course but that is just diplomacy. President Obama could find Stephen Harper in bed with his wife and he would still have nothing but nice things to say about him in front of the media.
The actions by Mr. Harper today is quite telling on two fronts. It further demonstrates that the Conservatives feel the need to shore up their base at the risk of alienating the 70%+ Canadians who would not automatically vote for the Conservatives. As well, it might indicate that behind all of the nice words being stated publically that these two men really do not like each other.
3 comments:
Firstly, every party, in power or not, campaigns 24/7. I mean, Iggy should have been in China instead of a photo op at a horse plowing contest.
Secondly, why do Liberals insist on trying to make mountains out of mole hills. It was proven that the same lady at the White House greeted Gordon Brown of Great Britain and Sarkozy of France. AND the White House confirms that this is their new diplomatic policy.
But being a true Liberal . . . never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Maybe you should go back to the hidden agenda thing because Canadians aren't buying what you guys are selling these days.
No, PK, no other government before this one has put political considerations so much in the forefront when making decisions. All governments are partisan. It is the nature of the beast but this government takes it to extremes.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Sarkozy are not the leaders of the United States' greatest trading partner and oldest friend. And like I said, look at the footage of Mr. Harper at the entrance to the White House. His facial expression and body language show disappointment. If the White House does have a new diplomatic policy it would seem the PMO did not receive that memo.
As for you last paragraph, it would seem you cannot argue without denigrating those you argue with so go fuck yourself.
Prairie Kid needs to grow up and quit being so brain washed. It just leaves him brain drained with no idea what is really going on in the land of Politics. I agree with you ottib, He just needs to F88k of. As for Iggy, I see you swallowed the line hook and sinker from Harper and the Media who couldn't take the time to follow him through Canada and see that he was travelling seeing the people and not on vacation as they portrayed. Its pretty hard for any party to run a campaign when they have to deal with a partisan media and a leader that is spending Canadians tax dollars on campaigning 24/7. That is part of my money and I object.
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